PCT reported a shortage of line and managerial staff in the tour industry

There is a shortage of line and managerial staff in the field of tourism. Ilya Umansky, President of the Russian Union of Travel Industry (RST), told Izvestia on November 26.

He emphasized that staff shortage is not a narrow sectoral issue, it is relevant to all markets in all spheres.

"The shortage is most acute, of course, at the level of line staff. Especially in the context of the fact that the level of salaries in the tourism industry is one of the lowest compared to other industries. This is determined by the low margin business and long payback periods, and primarily directly affects the hotel business," Umansky said.

According to him, along with line staff, there is a problem with staffing in management positions.

"A partial solution to this problem lies in the plane of changing the approach to training programs. There is not one mechanism here, it is a whole set of components and tools that can solve this problem. The first is a change in economic circumstances that will create a new business environment and, as a result, an opportunity to raise wages. For this purpose it is necessary to reduce the existing fiscal burden and release reserves to increase staff salaries", - said the President of PCT.

The second aspect of solving the problem may be to increase the prestige of work in the hospitality industry as a whole, he said. Without this, tourism cannot win the competition with other industries. A comprehensive approach is needed here, including popularization of tourism professions through the media, development of a motivation system and introduction of a system of incentives for experienced employees, Umansky pointed out.

"An important condition is to change educational programs, which in the interests of the industry should provide a practice-oriented approach. In my opinion, the key to success lies in utilizing the potential of learners. It is possible to change the educational process in such a way that students can combine practical training at the facilities of the tourism industry with theoretical processes in classrooms and laboratories. That is, it is necessary to try to involve students directly to work with guests, and thus cover the staff shortage, as well as to strengthen the practical component of education", - said the President of PCT.

In addition, we need simple tools for training, courses, providing a quick entry into the profession more age audience - people who have retired or decided to change jobs at a mature age for various reasons, concluded Umansky.

Find a manager: demand for top managers has almost doubled in three years

Why Russia lacks leaders

Earlier in the day, personnel search services told Izvestia that production managers, branch managers, commercial directors and other management representatives are in acute shortage in Russia. It was noted that the demand for managers has almost doubled in three years. Most of all such vacancies now in the fields of industry, retail, construction, tourism, catering and service.

Most of all vacancies of managers are now open in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Moscow and Sverdlovsk regions, Krasnodar region, reported "Izvestia" in the job search service Superjob. And, as the recruitment company hh.ru reported, the dynamics of growth in demand for top managers over the past three years is impressive: compared to 2021, the demand for these positions has grown 1.8 times.